LOOKING FOR THE HEAVENS
AMONG BUCHARESTIAN SKYCARESSERS

COSMIC ROMANIA 12

-photo-poetic essay by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe;
design: Florin Stancu-

One day,
walking on the main boulevard in Bucharest,
between the Union Square and the University Square,
and seeing two towers
separated in time by about 2 centuries
and in space by about 300 metres,
I thought that one of the spiritual reasons
for which people build skyscrapers
is to be closer to the sky
and to see more on Earth.

Thus,
the Baratia Tower was begun in 1716,
and, in the current form,
was finished in 1855.

The highest hotel in Bucharest,
Intercontinental,
was finished in 1977.

These made me reflect about
the history of the Bucharestian high buildings,
certainly not so high like those from the
famous American, Asian or West European cities
(that’s why I’ll name them… “skycaressers”!),
but appeared in spite of an unfavourable soil.

In this respect,
probably the most spectacular moment before World War II
was the Telephone Palace (53 m high),
finished in 1934.

Then the communist regime (1945-1989)
had the vanity to ask the people for making other important high buildings:

-The Press Palace (the first Romanian building of over 100 m high),
a combination between the Soviet sumptuous style
and the Romanian traditional style,
finished in 1954.

-An industrial tower (CET Progresul) at the edge of the city,
of 250 m high.

-The highest tower in Europe for testing elevators
(115 m high, made in the 1980s).

-And, of course, the People’s House
(now the Romanian Parliament),
which is the biggest administrative building in the world.

(Time for a photographic poem,
Solar Games.)

After the 1989 Revolution
many other skycaressers have appeared…

… trying to win through height
the contest with the old ones
(superior in beauty).

There is even a next Sky Tower
that already adorns/disturbs the blue…

I know that every skycaresser must have a soul
and dreams to be a small Atlas supporting the heavens,
but sometimes their invasion provokes problems.

For instance,
skycaressers force birds to fly higher…

The Moon becomes smaller…

And it is obvious that more skycaressers
involve more artificial lights…

(Time for a tipuritura,
the shortest Romanian poetic form.)

THE TRUE LIGHTS OF THE CITY

Venus and Jupiter still shine.
But where are the stars? That’s not fine.

(Time for the 1st haiga).

(Time for the 2nd haiga.)

(Time for the 3rd haiga.)

Old solar symbols are eclipsed…

The Sun rises harder…

Or especially like so…

Or like so…

Or even like so…

Or like so…

Or…

He also pierces clouds with bigger efforts…

Or like so…

And he sets faster…

Or like so…

(Time for another haiga.)

So we can look for solutions
using a sky ship…

... or asking the Moon
for coming to the balcony
and becoming a diadem
over her favourite skycaresser…

… or asking the Sun
for crowning the skycaresser of the day…

… or asking the clouds
for making more auras…

… or simply
leaving our thoughts to orbit
as natural satellites
around the Bucharestian skycaressers…

… while the veil of civilization
tends to confiscate
the entire sky.

Or better let’s begin every day
with a new ode
to a free sunset
in a clean sky!

Solar face oh solar power,
You are just a cosmic flower!

I can dream only
because the Sun is up there
creating wonders

I can love only
because the Sun is up there
inspiring feelings

Solar power, solar face,
You honor the stellar race!

LOOKING FOR THE HEAVENS AMONG BUCHARESTIAN SKYCARESSERS

LOOKING FOR THE HEAVENS
AMONG BUCHARESTIAN SKYCARESSERS